The Wilted Flower District

by Martin Niewood

  I felt some sense of his personal power as I grasped his hand and firmly shook it, “Everyone is tired and to be honest a little frightened about what is going on outside. Mostly everyone is asleep. I would probably do the same but I’m a bit of a night owl. I’m Violet Noone, by the way.”

  The way he made direct eye contact and carried himself with his shoulders squared with mine while purposefully moving his hands, it appeared that he had been professionally trained. “How terribly rude of me. My name is Griffen.” Moving further into the grand hall, I could see his face more clearly and felt like an idiot for not recognizing him. “Anyway, I should get upstairs, I’m already incredibly late. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Violet. You’re at the Academy with Noah, aren’t you? I knew your mother. A very interesting woman. It appears that you inherited her gorgeous eyes.”

  It was common for people to comment about my eyes but this felt different coming from one of the city counselors, “Thanks,” I said before flashing a smile and watching Griffen wander back into the darkness. The conversation was strange considering the timing of everything going on but it was nice of him to check on his people.

  Walking back into the hall I stopped before the overstuffed chair in which Weylin had been sleeping. He was awake and leaning forward apparently watching me, trying to figure out with whom I was talking. The stress on his face was visible but understandable. His eyes followed me as I plopped down in the chair beside him.

  Reaching over, I nudged his elbow reassuringly, “Go back to sleep. We might have a long day ahead of us.” I was still annoyed at Weylin for concealing his relationship with Deena from me. Although I realized that it made no sense, I felt as if Weylin and Deena had taken something from me. Deena was my friend and confidant and Weylin was my brother. He took my friend and she took my brother; they cut me out of the picture. Perhaps my feeling of isolation didn’t make sense but sometimes feelings don’t make sense, they’re just feelings.

  Besides, it was deeply hurtful that they both lied to me because keeping the relationship a secret was a lie of omission. Did Weylin really think that I would be upset that he was in a relationship with a mortal? And Deena was just as bad, making up stories about her ‘angel.’ I didn’t know if I would ever completely trust either of them again but being here with all of the people who were terrified for themselves and their families gave my hurt feelings some perspective.

  After a few minutes, Weylin roused himself from his tired stupor enough to ask, “Who the hell was that? What did he want?”

  Smirking, I responded, “That was Counselor Griffen. Can you believe it? Probably the first and last time I will ever have a one on one conversation with an active Fairhaven counselor in my lifetime and look at what I’m wearing.”

  “As in the Counselor Griffen, that just built Griff Glass?” Weylin shifted his body up in the chair as though I had caught his attention. “Wow! We are living in weird times. What did he say?” The jacket he had been using as a blanket fell forgotten onto the wooden floor.

  “Nothing really,” I replied. “He did tell me that he liked my eyes. Honestly, it was sweet. He just wanted to make sure that everyone was comfortable. It’s sort of hard to believe all those stories about him when he acts like that.” However, I knew there was something uneasy about him even in the short conversation that we had. It was that smile. Something felt incredibly fake about him. I was curious what insights he might add to the meetings on how to deal with the situation.

  Either way, I was hoping that they would find a solution quickly and end this civil unrest upending our lives. Leaning my head against the blue velvet of the high backed wing chair, I attempted to grab some sleep but no matter how hard I tried, all I could manage was to play and replay the bizarre events of the last few days while staring into the darkness. Ophelia, murder, Penny, Griff Glass, Noah, riots, preters, mortals, Weylin, Deena – my world no longer made any sense. Unsure what I was searching for, I knew there was a key that would unlock the meaning of these seemingly unrelated events. It was lying somewhere at the bottom of a deep and twisted rabbit hole and I was going to find it.

  Eventually, Weylin gave up trying to sleep and left to rejoin his friends in one of the game rooms. “Want to come?” he asked. “Noah has some wicked VR games.”

  “No, thanks, I’m good here,” I replied. Weylin acted as though last night’s disagreement with me never happened but I wondered if he was worried about Deena. I felt bad about the argument. Deena and I had never argued before. Her comments about me using Elsyn infuriated me but I knew that she was right. Although Cerpen Pharmaceutical provided synthetic Elsyn that kept most preters on an even keel, almost everybody used organic Elsyn occasionally for there was nothing like the real stuff when it came to sharpening one’s abilities or to experiencing instant euphoria. After all, preters had been using Elsyn for generations but I had to confess that even before this whole mess started, I was using it too often.

  My thoughts drifted back to the murder investigation, wondering why Penny had shown up at Griffen’s mansion as an invited guest. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she were here as part of the police presence guarding the members of the High Council but as a guest? That didn’t seem to make sense. I wondered if she was connected in some way to one of the moral members on the council. What was she up to and where was she now? Come to that, where was Ophelia and where had she been for the last four years?

  Hours later when someone finally came down the stairs, I was relieved to see that it was a mom and hoped that the crisis had been resolved. She smiled, touched my shoulder and took a seat in the chair beside me.

  “Is it over?” I asked but from her body language, I knew that it wasn’t.

  “No, not yet, honey, they’re just taking a short break,” she responded, the dark circles under her eyes testifying to her level of exhaustion. “Where’s Weylin?”

  “He’s hanging out with some of his teammates in the other room, playing VR games. Do you want me to go and get him?”

  “No, let him play. Hey, why don’t you go and join him?”

  “Thanks but I’m not really in the mood for games,” I answered while twisting and untwisting the delicate gold chain that hung around my neck.

  Noticing the locket, “You must miss your parents. I can’t believe that it’s almost ten years since Meadow passed.”

  Mom was right. I couldn’t believe that it had been that long. “I miss her so much and I never really got to know my father. What was he like?”

  “I’m sorry but I never met him, honey.”

  I was becoming concerned. Lately, I noticed that mom seemed to be forgetting things that she knew but she must really have been exhausted if she was this confused, “Mom, you and Parker were friends, remember?”

  “Oh yes, of course, Parker. Yes, we were very good friends. He was a fine man.” Mom paused, “You know, he loved you very much. You’re fortunate to have had him in your life, even if it was only for a few years. I wasn’t as lucky. My father was not a good man.”

  “You never talk about him. Your father was Aiden Rose, wasn’t he?”

  “I try to avoid talking about that period of my life.” Mom paused for a moment before continuing, “I did many things that I have lived to regret. It was a very different time but yes, Aiden Rose was my father. He was not a good man and definitely not a good father. I used to worry that I might turn out to be like him.”

  “Is it true what they say about him? Did he really do all the things that they say that he did?”

  Mom moved closer to me and said in a voice just above a whisper, “He did far worse than most people know.”

  “They say he had the most powerful preter ability ever. I heard that you could see his black flames from miles away.”

  “It’s true that he had a tremendous destructive ability and those black flames were legendary but Aiden Rose was not the most powerful preter that ever lived. That honor goes to a great warrior, Hector. The soldiers used to say that Hect
or had the strength of a hundred men. I’m not sure if that’s factually accurate but he was incredibly strong, even for a preter.”

  “We read about Hector in history and how he helped Griffin defeat the invaders. What happened to him?” I asked.

  “Nobody knows,” Mom replied as she shrugged her shoulders slightly. “He was a good man with fantastic abilities and then one day he mysteriously disappeared. After a while, everybody just assumed that he had died from some terrible accident. Losing him was a great loss, especially for Griffen. I don’t think that Griffen ever acknowledged Hector’s death but he never stopped people from creating memorials or building monuments to the fallen hero. On the other hand, my father died despised by most, alone in the forest. I suppose that was fitting, as he never wanted anyone around when he was living, including me.”

  “That’s so sad,” I said. Then trying to change the subject, I added, “I met Chancellor Griffen tonight. He just showed up in the doorway and started talking to me.”

  Grabbing my arm, mom asked, “He didn’t threaten you or anything, did he?”

  “Of course not, he was very nice. He just wanted to make sure that all of his guests were okay. He told me that I had nice eyes.”

  Relaxing her grip, “Well, Griffen is the master of the unexpected, isn’t he?”

  “You know, I never understood why Chancellor Griffen let you and your family remain in Fairhaven if your father and he were such great adversaries. It’s no secret that Chancellor Griffen does not hesitate to go after the families of his political enemies.”

  “It’s complicated but a long time ago, your mother brokered a deal with Griffen that covered our family.”

  “Really, did she know Griffen well?” I asked surprised by mom’s revelation.

  “I think that she knew him better than she let on. She would never tell me the details but she promised me that we would always be safe. Your mother always had her secrets. She was a very special person but for now, I think we need to leave the past in the past. There’s enough in the present to worry about.” Mom leaned over and squeezed my hand, “Now try to get some rest. I need to get back to work.”

  “Before you go, something that you said has been bothering me. When I first told you about seeing Ophelia, you made a strange comment. What did you mean when you asked me if there was a flash of light or if it appeared that Ophelia was stepping out of a doorway?”

  “I used to know someone who could project images and shapeshift but those apparitions were always preceded with a brief flash of light. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t another preter playing a cruel joke on us.”

  “What about stepping out of the doorway? Couldn’t that be a cruel joke as well?”

  “No, when Ophelia was very young her preter ability to disappear manifested itself very early. When she would reappear, it was as though she was stepping back into the room from behind a curtain of invisibility. What you saw was Ophelia.” With that, mom kissed me on the forehead and slowly walked back up the dark staircase.

  A few hours passed and the mob’s raging chants now rumbled like thunder outside the windows. An alarm sounded followed closely by terrified screams. Suddenly the building was on lockdown and a uniformed guard entered the room and secured the door behind him. I ran over to see what was going on. Everyone went silent, huddled off into their corners watching out for one another.

  A gunshot rang against my eardrum like a hammer against a nail. Initially thinking it came from outside, I turned my head to check the windows. That’s when the guard fell face first onto the floor and I saw the bullet hole in the door. When a second shot was fired, sparks spiked off the lock as the door opened. I heard the clinking of metal canisters hitting the ground but before I could react, my head grew heavy and my eyes began closing. Dazed, I could feel my body being dragged across the highly polished floor. My vision was blurred as I tried to remain conscious by focusing on my abductor’s boots but concentration failed me and I felt myself fading into sleep.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  I regained consciousness lying on a hard cot staring at a rough stone wall that stared back at me from twelve inches away. My eyes burned and the smell of smoke clung to my wrinkled clothes. Turning my head, it didn’t take long to figure out I was imprisoned in a windowless cell with a steel door preventing my escape. The light from the ceiling fixture continued to blink in and out making my already pounding headache worse than it needed to be.

  The last thing I remembered was being dragged along the floor of the grand hall in Griffen’s mansion staring at the boots of whoever was pulling me away. I had no idea of who had abducted me or if it had anything to do with seeing Ophelia or with Claude Cole’s murder. It seemed like that had happened several hours ago but I couldn’t be sure.

  Rising to my feet, I stepped towards the door frantically pushing each of its steel buttons before pressing my ear tightly against the door, trying to hear anything going on outside. As the shock started to wear off, the reality of the situation came rushing in on me. A rising sense of panic seeped into my consciousness like a poison attacking my brain. Screaming and pounding on the door, I called for anyone who could hear me, begging them to let me out of the cell. No one answered. Still leaning against the steel door, the haunting silence that followed made me feel worse. So, when the door buzzed and opened unexpectedly, I fell forward out of the cell and straight onto the ground.

  Spreading my hand across the concrete floor, it felt damp and slimy. Picking myself up, I glanced around at the five other empty cells whose doors now stood wide open. On the opposite side of the corridor, there was a glass door leading somewhere but I hadn’t a clue where. I walked towards the door that I suspected was locked but with the slightest touch, it swung opened revealing a foyer with four doors, three of which were locked. The remaining door was closed but unlocked. It led to a narrow corridor and although I wasn’t claustrophobic, I was starting to feel anxious.

  The stone lined passage reeked of chlorine and at the end of it, I spotted yet another doorway. Uncertain if I was passing a laboratory or a pool, I forced myself to walk slowly despite an almost irresistible urge to run because something deep down was telling me that this was too easy. Once I finally reached the doorway at the end of the long passage, I climbed up from the cavernous underworld and stepped back into the normalcy of an academic lecture hall.

  The room was empty except for Weylin who was sitting a few rows down from where I had entered. I opted to take a seat behind him. His hair was disheveled and he sat there holding his head in his hands. Tapping him on the shoulder, he finally realized I was there and jumped out of his seat hugging me.

  “I was so worried that I was here alone. Thank god, you’re okay,” Weylin said as he resumed his seat.

  Sitting down beside him, “What’s going on? Do you have any idea where we are?”

  “The woman’s voice said to be patient and everything would be explained,” Weylin shrugged pointing to a speaker on the wall.

  “What woman?” I asked searching the room but it was apparent from Weylin’s comment that there were cameras everywhere.

  “How the hell should I know? She simply told me that I would know what I needed to know when the time was right. If I’m honest, she had a rather nasty tone.”

  I wasn’t surprised since kidnappers generally weren’t pleasant people. That was when I first observed the door near the lectern at the other end of the classroom. It had some sort of electronic lock I had never seen before and I wondered whether I could open it. However, before I had the chance to try, the lock moved slightly and the door creaked open. Ophelia stood before us with a strange but attractive woman standing closely behind her.

  Shocked, I couldn’t move. Frozen with the uncertainty of the situation, I wondered why Ophelia was here. Was this unfamiliar woman standing beside Ophelia the cause for all of our personal troubles? Ophelia moved quickly towards us before suddenly stopping and retreating a few steps. She stared at the floor almost
as if she were fearful that her outburst might get her into trouble.

  The woman who accompanied Ophelia was remarkably beautiful with soft auburn hair and topaz blue eyes. Her skin was flawless and her bearing regal. Dressed in designer white slack and a navy blue blazer, she wore multiple gold bangle bracelets, a long gold chair and large diamond earrings. She stood a few inches taller than Ophelia and exuded authority and power. Her beauty was marred only by the cruel smile that spread across her face as she addressed Ophelia. “It seems you enjoyed my present, sweetheart. I told you if you behaved I would bring a bit of home to you.” The woman placed her hand on the back of Ophelia’s neck as she ground the heel of her boot into the floor for emphasis. “But you must remember the rules. Don’t make me have to punish you, especially with your guests here.”

  By contrast, Ophelia’s short black hair was unruly and her brown eyes were despondent. The grey sweatpants, tee shirt and dirty sneakers hide most of her body but the skin that was visible was covered in scars. On her neck there appeared to a small tattoo of three concentric circles. Still demoralized, Ophelia stared at the floor, “I’m sorry.”

  It broke my heart to see her standing there. Ophelia was only a shadow of her former self. I wanted to run up, put my arms around her and protect her. She looked even worse than the last time that I had seen her back at the house. She was visibly thinner. It was almost as if she had lost the fight inside of her and they had won. I hadn’t a clue what kind of ordeal that she endured but I could tell just by looking at her she would never be the same. Her body was covered with fresh cuts and bruises and her nails were jagged with grime embedded beneath them and around her cuticles. Worst of all was that stare of complete hopelessness. She was broken.